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Why Americans will really, really hate Congress in 2013

The incoming 113th Congress is likely to face the wrath of an irate electorate in a few days, as the current Congress apparently has dropped the ball on New Year’s Eve fiscal cliff negotiations.

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112th Congress

There still might be a smaller budget deal on Monday, as reports from Washington indicate Democrats have eased up on tax demands, and GOP Senate leaders are working toward a compromise.

But two huge issues—forced spending cuts and a new debt ceiling—won’t be part of a quick fix, if somehow Congress can agree on a way to delay some taxes and extend unemployment benefits.

Congress has had since November 2011 to deal with the big issues. Back then, a bipartisan committee couldn’t agree on a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff scenario, a double whammy of tax hikes and spending cuts that will affect most Americans in 2013.

And it was Congress that created the fiscal cliff to begin with, as part of a bipartisan vote to approve the Budget ControlAct of 2011.

The long-term problem is that the federal government spends more money than it takes in, forcing it to borrow massively. At its current pace, the government will have difficulty operating as Baby Boomers retire and tap into federal benefits.

Scenarios from the Congressional Budget Office show big problems starting in seven years if no reform measures are taken.

The failure of the current Congress to reach a deal means two or three equally nasty budget battles will take place in January as the new Congress starts its business year.

While the ongoing soap opera about the fiscal cliff isn’t a full-blown constitutional crisis yet, voters had little faith in Congress heading into December.

In several popularity surveys, Congress was at or near all-time lows when it comes to public approval ratings.

On December 19, Congress has an approval rating of 18 percent of Americans in a Gallup survey, but much of that rating was based on assumptions it would deal with the fiscal cliff in December.

A federal judge in Michigan on Wednesday revoked his order requiring a recount of the state's presidential vote sought by Jill Stein, siding with a state appeals court that found the Green Party candidate had no grounds to mount the challenge. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith's ruling has the effect of halting the recount in Michigan, at least for now, following conflicting rulings a day earlier by federal and state appeals courts. The Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the recount stopped, while the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Goldsmith's earlier decision and said the process should proceed.

After inadvertently sending out a promotional email on Wednesday regarding the NES Classic Edition, Best Buy sent out a clarification email later in the day to confirm that it would in fact have the hard-to-find console in stock at retail stores beginning on December 20th.
Last night, Oscar Muñoz ( @oscarinmv on Twitter ) received an email from Best Buy informing him that the NES Classic Edition would be "available in all Best Buy stores tomorrow, December 20." At the time, "tomorrow" was actually December 8th, which explains why Best Buy had to send another email minutes later explaining that NES Classic Edition consoles would actually be in stores on the 20th (via: @matthewrex ).
https://twitter.com/matthewrex/status/806661882941583360
Unsurprisingly, there will be limited quantities available, so if you want to grab an NES Classic Edition from Best Buy later this month, you'll probably need to be at your local store the minute it opens.
Nothing in the email suggests that any stock will be available on BestBuy.com , but it still might be worth keeping an eye out on the website come December 20th. We'll be sure to update this post if we hear anything definitive about the NES Classic Edition coming to Best Buy's website.
If you don't want to wait that long, Amazon said on Twitter earlier this week that it would have "exciting announcements to make in the coming week" for NES Classic Edition fans. We won't know for sure until the retailer shares more details, but we have to assume that means Amazon will have more units soon as well.

Christmas decoration is displayed at the Christmas market near the ‘Marienplatz’ square in Munich, Germany; a fan dressed as a stormtrooper waves a mini light saber during the Japan premiere of ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ in Tokyo, Japan; and a view of light shining through a gate during a media preview event for the new summer exhibition ‘Versailles: Treasures from the Palace’ at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia are some of the photos of the day. (AP/EPA/Getty/Reuters) See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.

Donald Trump’s former campaign manager says the president-elect has already accomplished more in the month since his election than President Obama has in the last four years. “Donald Trump, in the first four weeks of his presidency, has done more to help this country than I think Barack Obama has done in the last four years,” Corey Lewandowski said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday. Lewandowski, an informal Trump adviser expected to join his administration, said Trump has a shown a stronger “commitment” to the U.S. military and American businesses than the Obama administration’s second term by vowing “to reduce the amount of government regulations so they can continue to grow” at a rate higher than the current economy.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man convicted of killing a store clerk is scheduled to be executed Thursday, but lawyers for the former Eagle Scout are urging it be blocked because a judge overrode a jury recommendation in imposing the death sentence.

In an effort to combat illegal mining and logging, agents of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, supported by military police, conduct operations in the municipality of Novo Progresso, Para State, northern Brazil. (Getty Images) Photographs by Ueslei Marcelino/Getty Images See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr .